Car-fender



7 (No Model.)

0 A. HATCH.

UAR FENDER.

No. 577,954. Patented Mar. 2, 1-897.

NITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. HATCH, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,954, dated March 2, 1897.

Application filed February 21, 1896. Serial No. 580,291. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. HATCH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Fenders, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,whereby any one skilled in the art can make and use'the same.

My invention relates to the class of apparatus that are more particularly intended for use on street-railway cars for the purpose of removing any obstacle from the track; and the object of my invention is to provide a car-fender of this class that shall be simple, strong, positive in operation, and of the kind which removes the object by pushing it to one side. The apparatus is automatic in its operation.

A further object of my within-described invention is to enable the lower edge of the fender to be maintained at a normal height above the level of the car-track without regard to the vertical movement of the car-body, although the fender is suspended from that part.

To this end my invention consists in the details of the several parts making up the fender and its connected mechanism and the combination of such parts, as more particularly hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front end of a car, illustrating my improved fender. Fig. 2 is a detail plan view showing the fender, a part of the running-gear frame, and the equaliz ing mechanism interposed between the fender and the car-body. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view showing the fender swung to one side and illustrating the operation of the device.

In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes the body of a car or like vehicle, and b the running-gear frame on which the body is supported, with springs interposed between the car-body and the running-gear frame. In suitable bearings in this running-gear frame the wheels 0 are mounted in the usual manner and support the whole structure. The letter (1 denotes the tracks on which the car runs. All'of these parts are of any ordinary construction.

In the preferred form of my invention a curved guide-rod e is secured to the front of the car-body, usually in front of the lower edge of the platform, as by means of screwbolts extending through the flattened ends of the rod. A bracket 6 supports the guiderod at the center and also forms a stop which limits the lateral swinging movement of the fender supported from the guide-rod.

The fender f is made up of a framework, preferably of iron, of suit-able shape, which somewhat resembles the ordinary form of the pilot used on a locomotive. This fender is provided with bearings, preferably the two grooved Wheels ff, held in a bracket f secured to the upper part of the fender-frame and gripping on opposite sides of the guiderod,with a contact, however, sufficiently loose to permit the free running movement of the wheels on the guide-rod. There are at least two such wheel-brackets arranged on opposite sides of the center of. the fender, and these wheel-brackets by contact with the central support of the guide-rod form the stop device, which limits the lateral swinging movement of the fender. This method of connecting the upper part of the fender-frame to the guide-rod also provides for a limited vertical swinging movement of the fender, which, in fact, by these means may be said to be pivoted to the guide-rod.

A serious difficulty in prior car-fenders has been that the requirements of its use demand that it shall be supported from the front end of the platform of the car, but when so supported the up-and-down swinging movement of the car causes the lower edge of the fender to be carried at varying distances above the track. It is impracticable to have the lower end of the fender rest on the track or on Wheels on the fender which may run on the track. If a fender is supported to a rigid extension from the running-gear frame which has a fixed level with reference to the cartrack, it is cumbersome, expensive, and for many reasons impracticable.

In order to enable all of the requirements of a fender to be obtained, as to its position on the extreme front end of the car-body and its perfect operation in removing an obstacle and its maintenance at a normal level With reference to the car-track, I support on the frame of the running-gear mechanism which,

ICO

connected at one end to the car-body by contact wit-h the under surface of the car and to the fender, preferably at or near its lower edge, at the other end, causes the vertical movement of the car-body to control the horizontal position of the lower edge of the fender and to maintain it constantly at practically the desired level. One form of mechanism for accomplishing this result is shown in the accompanying drawings, where a bracket h is firmly secured, as by means of bolts, to the running-gear frame, the front part of the bracket supporting a bent lever 2'.

The lever is pivoted in the bracket, as by means of the pivot z", to swing in a vertical plane, the upper arm of the lever t' carrying a roller 1?, which is in contact with the under surface of the car--body or a metallic plate secured thereto. The lower end of the bent lever extends downward to the proper level, and to this lower end is pivotally united a connecting-rod j, which has a threaded portion on which is'supported a socket-piece It, the jam-nuts Z Z on opposite sides of this socketpiece serving to determine the exact position of the socket-piece on the connecting-rod. From this socket-piece two or more braces on m extend forward and are secured to the frame of the car-fender, preferably at or near its lower edge. These parts-the lever, the connecting-rod, and the bracesconstitute what I call the equalizing mechanism, which is interposed,as shown and as described, between the car-body and the fender and having the purpose and function of enabling the lower edge of the fender to be maintained at the proper level by utilizing the up and down movements of the car-body with reference to the running-gear frame for that purpose.

In case the car-body in its vertical movement swings up to an undue extent the fender is prevented from following, that is, from dropping below the required distance, by means of a stop device a, preferably consisting of the T-shaped arm secured to or forming part of the bent lever, the arms of this T-shaped piece in the form shown limiting the movement of the fender by striking against the under surface of the bracket when the proper level of the fender has been reached.

It is obvious that other forms of equalizing mechanism can be used than thatdescribed, and it may be connected to or used in connection with other forms of fenders which operate in a different manner from the one herein described, without departing from nay-invention, the main feature of which consists in the utilization of the vertical movement of the car-body as a means of controlling the horizontal position of the lower edge of the fender, of whatever kind or class the latter may be.

I claim as my invention 1. In combination with the running-gear of a car or like vehicle, a car-body mounted on the frame of the running-gear, a yielding support between the running-gear and car-body,

a fender suspended from the car-body, mechanism supported on the frame of the runninggear and connecting the car-body with the fender whereby the horizontal position of the lower edge of the fender is controlled by the horizontal position of the car-body, and a stop to limit the downward movement of the fender during the movement of the car-body, all sub stantially as described.

2. In combination with the runnin ggear of a car, a ear-body mounted on the frame of the running-gear, a yielding support between the car-bod y and run nin g-gear, a lever pivoted to the running-gear frame and with one end in rolling contact with the bottom of the carbody, a fender pivoted to the car-body, and a connecting-rod between the fender and the end of the lever, all substantially as described.

3. In combination, a running-gear frame, caewheels mounted therein, a carbody mounted on the running-gear frame and having a yielding support thereon, a fender pivotally supported from the car-body and having a limited lateral swinging movement on its support, a bracket fast to the running-gear frame, a bent lever pivotally supported on the bracket, one end of said lever held in contact with the under surface of the car-body and the other end connected to the fender by flexible connecting means, the said connection between the car-body and the fender determinin g the horizontal position of the lower edge of the car-fender, all substantially as described.

4. In combination, a car-body, a runninggear frame, wheels supported in said frame, springs or like yielding connections interposed between the car-body and the runninggear frame, a fender supported from the carbody and having a limited lateral swinging movement on its supports, mechanism connecting and interposed between the car-body and the fender said mechanism including an adjustable connecting-rod and whereby the horizontal position of the bottom of the fender with reference to the car-track is controlled and determined by the horizontal position of the car-body, all substantially as described.

5. In combination with a car-body, the running-gear with its frame, the yielding support located between the car-body and the running-gear frame, a curved guide-rod secured to the car-body, a fender pivotally supported on the guide-rod and having a limited lateral sliding movement thereon, a spring normally holding the fender with its center line in line with the center of the car-body,-a bracket secured to the running-gear frame, a bent lever pivoted to the bracket and having its upper end in contact with the under surface of the car-body, a connecting-rod pivotally attached to the lower end of said lever, a socket-piece adj ustably secured to the connecting-rod, braces extending from the socket-piece to the ear-fender, and means for adj ustably clamping the socket-piece on the connecting-rod, all substantially as described.

6. In combination with the running-gear of a car or like vehicle, a car-body mounted on the frame of the running-gear, a fender secured to the car-body, a yielding support between the car-body and the runninggear frame, a lever pivoted to the running-gear frame and with one end in rolling contact with the car-body, a connecting-rod secured to the opposite end of the lever and to the fender-frame, and means for varying the length of the connecting-rod, all substantially as described.

7. In combination with the running-gear of a car or like vehicle, a car-body mounted on the frame of the running-gear, a yielding support between the car-body and running-gear frame, a fender suspended from the car-body and having a limited lateral swinging movement on its support, mechanism supported on the frame of the running-gear and operatively connected to the car-fender and the car-body whereby the horizontal position of the lower edge of the fender is controlled by the horizontal position of the car-body, all substantially as described.

8. In combination with the running-gear of a car, or like vehicle, a car-body mounted on the frame of the running-gear, a yielding support between the car-body and running-gear frame, a fender suspended from the car-body and having a limited lateral swinging movement on its support, mechanism supported on the frame of the running-gear and connecting the car-body and the fender whereby the horizontal position of the lower edge of the fender is controlled by the horizontal position of the car-body, and adjusting means for varying the position of the lower edge of the fender with reference to the car-body, all substantially asdescribed. k

9. In combination with the running-gear of a car or like vehicle, a car-body mounted on the frame of the running-gear, a yielding supstop to limit the downward movement of the fender, all substantially as described.

CHARLES A. HATCH.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR B. JENKINS, J. STERN. 

